Used to the Cold
by SuperUltraMegaMiko
Summary: Natalya is sick of being treated like a little girl. She finally loses it on her 19th birthday and causes winter to come early and wreck havoc all around. With Irunya being frozen in a block of ice, Ivan must set out to find and bring back his sister after she fled the scene... Will he succeed?
1. Times of Childhood

Three children of royalty, parentless at a young age. The eldest, a girl named Irunya had to act as a mother to her two younger siblings: The middle child, a boy named Ivan, and the youngest - another girl named Natalya.  
Natalya was a special case... She was normally quiet and kept close to her brother. Despite Ivan being a kind soul as well as the heir to the throne, he was picked on by other kids. Natalya kept saying they'd be sorry when winter rolled around... And every winter, Karma struck them if they had picked on him during the summer... Why was this? Natalya was the one that summoned the winter each year due to her power to control the snow. Her brother quickly grew accustomed to her winters, eventually not being bothered by the cold at all. Her sister not so much...  
Despite this, her siblings didn't find out that Natalya was responsible for the coming of winter.

* * *

"Aw, look at him. He's starting to cry. What'll happen if we throw more rocks at him?"  
"He won't do anything. He'll just sit there and take it. Like always."  
"GET AWAY FROM MY BIG BROTHER YOU MEANIES!"

Natalya ran up to the group of bullies, one of them being the white-haired Gilbert. Natalia folded her arms and glared them down, standing in front of Ivan to protect him. "If you continue this, winter will be harsh on you..."  
"Haha! He had to get his little sister to protect him!" Gilbert laughed.  
Natalya continued to stare them down. "That's no way to talk to your future leader, now is it? Back down or face consequences."

Gilbert just laughed some more. "Throw em." Rocks were thrown, but Natalya caught two of them with her hands using unearthly reflexes.  
"Leave. Now."  
Gilbert became terrified and ran off, followed by the gang.

Ivan smiled and got up to give his sister a hug. "Thank you! At least I know you care about me!"  
"... You're welcome big brother. Let's go inside now... Big Sister will be waiting to give us lunch... Probably." Natalya said.

* * *

"Ah, look Natalya!" Ivan pointed up at the sky. "It's beginning to snow!"  
Natalya ran up to Ivan and clung to him. "Winter has come now... Just as I predicted it would today. Right brother?"  
"Uh-huh!" Ivan nodded. "Once there's a bunch more snow, we can build snowmen and make snow angels! Maybe we can convince big sister to play with us this time!" He happily smiled. "Ah, speaking of big sister, she needs to see this! IRUNYA!" He called.

Irunya came running. "What is it? Are you two alright?!" She asked, worried.  
Ivan quietly giggled. "No. Look up." He pointed up at the sky, Irunya looked up.  
"Ah, how beautiful. The first snow fall of winter. Just like you predicted Natalya." Irunya then looked down at her younger sister. Natalya merely replied with a nod.

Ivan reached out into the air, cupping his hands. He then looked down after a quick while to see nothing. "Aw... I'm still no good at catching snowflakes..."  
"Just try again big brother..." Natalya insisted. She moved one hand behind her back, and flicked it about before twitching her fingers. Whatever she was doing made a thumb-sized snowflake fall into Ivan's hand.

Ivan looked down in his hands. "Whoa, and it isn't melting! Look big sister!" Ivan showed the snowflake to Inunya.  
"What a catch!" Irunya smiled.  
"Let me see." Natalya asked, tugging on the sleeve of Ivan's coat.  
"Ah, right!" Ivan bent down a little and let Natalya look at it.  
"It's so pretty..." Natalya said, before gently picking it up and tossing it back into the wind.  
"I kinda wanted to keep that somewhere... But it's fine!" Ivan responded, gently petting his little sister on the head before looking up at his older sister. "So is it time for lunch now?"  
"Of course, come inside." Irunya said, grabbing her siblings by their hands and walking inside with them.

Natalya quickly looked back to look at the town beyond the gates of the courtyard. She glared over a bunch of specific houses and storm clouds form over them. "Enjoy your winter, you big bullies." She whispered before looking forward again.

* * *

"There's enough snow to play around in today!" Ivan commented excitedly, looking out his bedroom window. He jumped up and down excitedly and ran out into the hallway, knocking on the bedroom doors of his sisters bedrooms. "Can we go outside and build a snowman, please sisters?" He politely asked.

Irunya opened up her door and greeted Ivan with a warm smile. "I'll make some warm soup for breakfast first. Alright?" Despite still being in her PJs, she walked off to make soup.  
Natalya opened her own door and rubed her eyes. "Ah, big brother..." She quickly dashed to his side. "Don't worry, I'm awake enough to play... Huh? Why are you already dressed?" She sleepily asked.  
"Winter is my favourite time of year. You know that right? Did you know there was a bad time where winter didn't come at all?" Ivan replied.  
"Oh yeah... It only ended when I was a baby, right?" Natalya commented.  
"Yep! Although I think it lasted only a few years." Ivan said, taking Natalya by the hand and walking to the dining room.

"The year the winters stopped was when an old man in the village died. Everyone just called him 'General'. The strangest thing though... He gave his blessings to our parents before he passed. Why do you think he did that?" Ivan looked down at his little sister.  
Natalya looked down at the floor. "I don't know. And I don't think we will ever find out." She answered.

 _Mr. Winter, or 'General'... He made the winters come. He told me in a dream when I was two. He said he passed his powers down to me, having failed to pass them to my big brother, and I was his last chance. My father died protecting the kingdom from a raging fire and my mother died after giving birth to me. Mr. Winter gave blessings in hopes his powers would be passed down to one of us so winter wouldn't go away forever. Big sister was already born but barely a month old... Mr. Winter also said I need to control my powers. One slip up could mean disaster. I can't let him down... But I can't tell my siblings either._

"Ah, there you two are! Took you long enough to get here! The soup is heating up, just a few more minutes..." Irunya said with a happy tone.  
Ivan sat down at the table, awaiting the soup. Natalya copied him.

* * *

"Come on sister, let's make snow angels!" Ivan pulled Irunya along and then gently threw her back-first into the snow.  
Irunya laughed and started making a snow angel. Ivan jumped in the snow next to her and started making his own.

"Despite this warm clothing... It's so cold. How can you stay so warm with just that coat and scarf, Ivan?" Irunya asked.  
Ivan chuckled a little bit. "I think I'm just born with a resistance to the cold..."

Natalya looked at the two. They were not paying attention to her so she rubbed her hands together then pet the snowy ground before raising her hands off the ground. A snowman made from a somewhat squashed circle for a body and a circular head emerged from the snow. Although, it lacked twigs for arms and rocks for facial features and something else for a nose. She looked back at her siblings again quickly. "I guess I could look in the forest for some rocks and sticks... Those two wouldn't dare going outside the walls of our kingdom." She ran toward the brick fence that leads toward the forest and then made a pillar of snow that pushed her up and over the fence, then she ran off.

* * *

"The snowman looks nice! Where'd you get the rocks from Natalya?" Irunya asked.  
"Oh... I went into the town. There's rocks and twigs buried under the snow there." Natalya lied.  
"I thought we told you to go out with one of us. You're only four... You're small and fragile compared to us. What if you get hurt?" Irunya replied, showing concern then gently dusting Natalya off.

Ivan simply stared at the snowman. "Look, he's got a curly twig in his hair!"  
"Yeah. I thought it would be cute to give him a hair curl when I found that stick..." Natalya responded. "Oh, and I saw the houses of those bullies... Almost completely covered in snow. I guess you got some kind of payback, big brother." Natalya softly giggled, then giving him a hug.  
"Ah, I hope they won't freeze this winter. Even I wouldn't wish death upon them..." Ivan said, keeping a smile.  
"Even after they attacked you last year, and..." Irunya stopped herself from continuing her comment.  
Ivan gently pressed against his neck, and it causes him to twitch slightly. "Yes. Even after that... We are but children, and we will mature and learn from our mistakes eventually." Ivan said softly.

It started snowing again.

"It's time for lunch once again. Perfect timing too! Let's go." Irunya started walking back inside. Ivan followed and so did Natalya.

* * *

 _Those days of play and loving winter are long gone now... 15 years long gone. Big brother now hates winter, seeing it a nuisance where all the sunflowers and most crops die out. And I'm still treated like a little girl...but I'm turning 19 tomorrow. Anything I try to do, my siblings just shrug off... I haven't heard any heartfelt compliments from either of them in so long... What am I to do? And I fear I'm starting to lose control of my powers. I can't fail Mr. Winter but..._

"Ivan... It's 10pm, what are you doing out so late watering the sunflowers?" Natalya asks.  
"I want to make sure they look their best for the party tomorrow! Even if it drags on into the night, the guests will still be seeing the sun with these..." Ivan replies, turning his head to look at his sister.  
"...Well, go to bed soon alright? It's going to be a busy day tomorrow." Natalya says. "Irunya is already asleep... Uh, goodnight big brother." Natalya quickly gives Ivan a kiss on the cheek before walking back inside.

Ivan happily hums. "Maybe I'll find myself a lovely life partner at this party... This king is getting rather lonely without a queen."


	2. Happy Birthday?

"King Ivan! Are you awake?"  
"Hmmmmmm... Am I?"  
"Uh, you sound awake."  
"Whooooo is this?"  
"T-Toris! You know... One of your butlers?"  
"Oh! Toris! Yes... Aha... Don't worry. I am totally awake and will not fall asleep again in 5 seconds!"  
"Good, because it's your- ... K-KING IVAN!"  
"No need to yell, I said I wouldn't fall asleep again!"  
"You just did. You started snoring."  
"Don't mind that... What is it?"  
"Your sister Natalya... It's her 19th birthday. You need to get ready for her party, it starts at 2."  
"Oh, right! I'll get dressed right away!"

Ivan jumps out of bed and tosses off his PJs, they land on a chair near a desk. He opens up his wardrobe and pulls out a red and white outfit.  
There's white pants with golden-brown lines to the sides of the leg that go down to the bottom of the pants. Matching boots cover up the fact that the pants are a little bit short. The shirt gets tucked into the pants, and is buttoned up by heart-shaped buttons tilted to the side. Thankfully, these manage to match with his scarf. But that's not enough. It's a plain red coat that doesn't button up and reaches down to the knees. To top it off, he puts a small crown on his head; the crown is in the style of a red dome being pinned down by gold bars. You know the ones...

"Ah, I say I look good! I wonder if Toris thinks to too." Ivan opens his door, Toris is still standing outside.  
"What you think? Good, da?"  
"O-of course! Every time you wear that you look lovely!" Toris compliments with a weak smile.  
"Mmmm, glad you think so! Does anything else need to be done before we open up the gates for the guests?" Ivan asks.  
"Oh, not much. Dinner tables just need to be set." Toris explains.  
"Is that all? How can I help?" Ivan asks.  
"E-eh? You want to... Help? Are you sure? You are king after a-" Toris is cut off.  
"It's fine. I like helping! Lead the way!" Ivan insists.  
"O-of course sire." Toris says, ready to walk off.  
"Ivan... How many times have I said to call me Ivan?" Ivan slightly sighs, following Toris.

* * *

"Princess Irunya! Are you up yet?"  
"I'm very much awake, thank you Eduard!"  
"Breakfast is ready when you're ready to come out."  
"Thank you. I'd expect as much, considering it's 10am."  
"Yes... I'm surprised you three didn't get up on your own this morning actually."  
"Really? All three of us? Aha! I'll be out in a sec!"  
"Are you dressed though? I don't recommend lazily going out to get breakfast in your Pyjamas today..."  
"I'm in my casual wear, yes."  
"But, milady... You're supposed to be in formal attire today."  
"... OH! Yes yes, now I remember! No need to tell me why. I'll change right away. Don't move!"

Irunya walks into her closet, and pulls out a creamy white dress that goes down to her ankles and has two red stripes that go around the brim of the dress. Around the waist is where a big, black ribbon must be tied up. The dress makes it so cleavage isn't revealed, instead around the neck is some frilly red material. The sleeves are short and puffy and have a similar red frilly material around the edges. For shoe wear, she wears read heels. Accessories include a red head band and a necklace made of thick red string and it holds a ruby.

"I'm ready now!" Irunya opens the door and walks out of her bedroom.  
"You look beautiful milady!" Eduard compliments with a smile.  
"It has been a while since I've pulled out this dress... Glad it still looks good on me!" Irunya replies with a smile.  
"Aha, just about everything looks good on you!" Eduard compliments.  
"You are too kind Eduard. Now, what are we having for breakfast?" Irunya asks, beginning to walk down the hallway.  
"Oh, nothing too special today, just some eggs and toast. All the good stuff if being saved for the party." Eduard answers.  
"Of course." Irunya giggles. "Care to eat with me?"  
"U-uh... Sure! I'd be honoured milady!" Eduard gratefully accepts.  
"Just Irunya is fine." Irunya comments.

* * *

"Princess Natalya! Happy birthday!"  
"... Thanks. Who's there?"  
"Y-your butler... Raivis."  
"Oh."  
"Are you dressed for today Princess?"  
"... I guess I have to get dressed, don't I?"  
"O-of course! It's not really your birthday party with you, is it?"  
"I supposed you're right... I'll be out in a second. Wait there for me."

Natalya gets up and grabs her dress that was hanging on the doorknob of the closet. The dress is the iconic purple one that is complimented with a white waist apron, striped ribbon for the waist and black bow on the chest. A white shirt goes underneath the dress. The footwear are some black Mary Janes that go along with some black-grey stockings. A white ribbon also goes on her head.

"This was my birthday present from big brother last year... I love this dress, I wish I could wear it more often." Natalya compliments the dress before walking out of the room.  
"Ah! You look really pretty!" Raivis compliments.  
"My brother does have surprisingly good fashion sense after all..." Natalya lets out a smile.  
"You're twice as pretty when you smile Natalya!" Raivis further compliments.  
"You think so? Hm... I'll try doing that more." Natalya says.  
"Why not keep a smile on all day today? It's your birthday after all!" Raivis suggests.  
"I'll make an attempt... I promise." Natalya says.  
"Good! Anyway, you ready for breakfast?" Raivis asks.  
"I suppose I am. Let's go." Natalya begins walking, Raivis follows.

* * *

"Big brother! Looking handsome as ever!" Natalya compliments, sparkles in her eyes.  
"Hahaha! Thank you Natalya. A king should look his best on his little sister's birthday after all. Now It's time to open up the gates!" Ivan then signals the guards and the gate slowly swings open, people begin rushing in.

"Happy Birthday Princess!"

"You all look lovely today!"

"Where do I put the present?"

Irunya smiles. "Everyone looks happy to be here! I hope we did a good job!"  
"I hope they like how the tables were set out!" Ivan adds.

A guilty looking and now older Gilbert dressed in a fancy purple jacket with a plain white shirt underneath with black pants being followed by a slightly taller blonde man in a similar attire - with the difference being that the white shirt and purple jacket have swapped colours - walk up to the trio. Gilbert is holding two presents.  
"Go on, give it to them." Urges the blonde one.  
Gilbert holds out the presents. One for Natalya and the other for Ivan.  
"Oh, what's this?" Ivan asks, happily accepting the present.

"I... I've meant to say sorry for a while for all those times I hurt you, Ivan. I was a foolish child that picked on people that had it better than me." Gilbert admits.  
Ivan pulls Gilbert in and gives him a good, strong hug.  
"Ludwig, help." Gilbert begs, looking back at the blonde man.  
"Hugs are tighter than you were expecting, huh bro?" Ludwig chuckles.  
Eventually, Ivan lets go of Gilbert. "Enjoy the party my new friends. Save your appetites for dinner though, okay?" Ivan suggests.  
"W-will do, your majesty!" Ludwig says.  
"Call me Ivan, just Ivan." Ivan urges before the two walk off.

Quickly after, A short man that looks around the age of 40, dressed in a fancy red coat with sleeves too long for him with a black shirt and black pants underneath and brown hair styled in a ponytail walks up to Ivan and his sisters.  
"Happy birthday Princess Natalya!" He greets.  
A slightly shorter man in his mid 20's dressed in a similar attire - with red being replaced by white - and short black hair holds out a gift and bows. "We hope you like it."  
"I made it!" A somewhat taller man yet looking younger says, he's wearing a white coat in similar fashion to the other men and his hair colour is a mesh of theirs. His forehead is clearly visible since his hair looks pushed to the sides, and he also has a funny looking girl."  
"No you didn't Im!" A now shorter man exclaims from behind all three of them. His hair is a dark brown and is short and looks nicely brushed and smooth. His jacket is a darker red when compared to the other red.  
"Ah! There you boys are. You almost lost me!" A short girl with long brown hair in a jacket like theirs and pink in colour - accompanied by a black shirt and black skirt instead of pants - runs up to them.

"So you managed to bring the entire family this time, did you Yao?" Ivan rhetorically asks.  
"Haha yep! You should have seen how hard it was to get this one into his outfit." Yao says, pointing to Im.  
"Now... Let's see if I remember your names... There's Kiku, as previously stated Im, Li and Lin. Am I correct?"  
"Yes. All the names are correct." Kiku says.  
"Ah, you can pronounce L's at last!" Irunya happily claps.  
"Y-yes... Took me a while." Kiku blushes a little bit.  
"Well, you can all go off and enjoy the party now! And your matching outfits are adorable!" Irunya compliments before allowing them to walk off.

Just one more guest decides to greet the three face-to-face. A man in an elegant green jacket that's simply thrown over his shoulders and buttoned around his neck. There's a plain white shirt and green pants that match... Stuffed into some brown boots. His blonde hair is shoulder-length and can likely be mistaken for a girl from behind.  
"Happy birthday Princess." He says, before glaring at Ivan. "You're taking good care of Toris aren't you? Are his wounds healing? When is he allowed to come home?!"  
"Slow down Feliks. He's fine..." Ivan responds with a smile. "Those injuries of his are getting a lot better after years of treatment, but I don't think the marks will ever go away, much like mine." He gently taps his scarf.  
"Ah, right... Can I see him?" Feliks asks.  
"Sure!" Ivan clears his throat. "TORIS!"  
Toris comes running, he's in the same outfit he was in earlier - a fancy black and white butler outfit with white gloves and black shoes. "You called?"  
Ivan simple points at Feliks.  
"Feliks!" Toris runs toward him and gives him a kiss on the cheek and a hug.  
"You're making me feel so lonely by myself at home... Can't you move back in?" Feliks whines.  
"Don't worry, I promise I'll stop by more often during my breaks. Aš tave myliu!" Toris replies.

Ivan smiles. "Toris. You can have a break until 4."  
"R-really?!" Toris says in disbelief.  
"I think Feliks wants to spend some time with you. Just make sure you're in that uniform when it's time to get back on duty, da?" Ivan adds.  
"T-Thank you Ivan!" Toris thanks. The pair then happily walk off together.

"Mmm... Can't wait for the day where I can love someone like that..." Ivan happily comments.  
Natalya looks up at him. "How about me?"  
Ivan chuckles. "Silly sister for suggesting such things."  
Natalya folds her arm and doesn't respond, looking a little bit upset.

* * *

The time is now 7pm at night. Ivan repeatedly taps on a glass cup with a spoon until everyone is paying attention and is silent.

"Now, as you all know it is my sister's 19th birthday today!" Ivan starts off.  
Everyone claps and cheers before Ivan continues speaking.  
"Now, turning 19 is a big thing! You've almost shaken off all that teen angst - as everyone is calling it - and you're just about an adult!" Ivan then lets Irunya start speaking.  
"Yes. She's no longer a little girl, but a woman!" Irunya says.  
Natalya says nothing... At the moment.

After the short speech that was a combine effort of Ivan and Irunya, they pass the speech over to Natalya.

"Yeah I have something to say about your little speech... It sucked and it's full of lies."  
Everyone gasps, shocked. Especially her siblings.  
"To both of you, I haven't grown up! You both think I'm silly when I express my love to either of you and treat me as if I'm still a child learning about the world! I know more about this kingdom than the both you!" She lashes out, stomping her foot down and causing a small patch of the floor to be coated with a thin layer of ice. The more she talks, the angrier she gets. "Am I a child or woman? I can't be both!" The room temperature drops, some start to shiver. "AND DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I HAVE GONE WITHOUT HEARING 'I LOVE YOU NATALYA'? TEN YEARS!" The ice from the patch begins to spread. "AND UNTIL YOU'RE READY TO SAY THAT, DON'T BOTHER COMING TO RETRIEVE ME FROM MY ROOM!"

She sharply turns around, two ice beams are fired at her siblings with the flick of her arm. Irunya gets trapped in a block of ice but Ivan is unaffected. Stalagmites rise from the ground, splitting the crowd into groups. The crowd lets out screams of terror and Natalya turns around to see what she's done. It doesn't help that the stalagmites are making their way outside into the courtyard where more people are, and beyond that the town. Natalya runs after her mess in an attempt to stop it, with Ivan following, obviously out of concern.

Natalya forms a thick icicle in her hands to see if using it to break the stalagmites will get them to stop forming, but it just makes it worse. People back away from her in fear.  
"SISTER!" Ivan calls out.  
Natalya runs away from the sound of her brother's voice. Out of the courtyard, through the town and to the docks. The water looks untouched. She quickly looks back, Ivan is getting closer. She decides to run forward. As she touches the surface of the water, it begins freezing over, and eventually she's made her way into the forest. The forest starts getting frosty too, with rocks, grass and twigs freezing instantly.

Ivan stops before the frozen water, watching his sister run off into the distance. He looks up.  
"Snow..." He comments. "She's the one that brought back winter all those years ago..." He realises, dusting some snowflakes off his sleeve. "If she can make it go away every spring, she can do it now too... It's the middle of summer." He runs back to the castle, most people are shaken with fear.

"What WAS that?" Toris asks as Ivan returns.  
"That was Natalya..." Ivan answers. "And I'm gonna have to bring her back home."


End file.
